Gators Outfielder Michelle Moultrie Raised Her Profile At WCWS
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 | Softball, Scott Carter
The rest of the country got to see what Florida fans and SEC coaches already knew: Gators center fielder Michelle Moultrie is not your typical former walk-on.
Moultrie was named Co-Tournament MVP along with Arizona State pitcher Dallas Escobedo on Tuesday night for her spectacular performance in Florida's run to the WCWS championship series.
Moultrie singled and scored the first run of Tuesday's game on Brittany Schutte's sacrifice fly in the first inning. Arizona State came back to win, 7-2, winning its second national title in four years.
However, Moultrie elevated her status in the softball community to a point where it's difficult to imagine she was a walk-on when the junior first joined the program three years ago.
Moultrie batted .542 (13-for-24) with four home runs and seven RBIs in the seven games. She also scored nine runs and constantly set things in motion at the top of Florida's lineup.
“I was just trying to do everything I could for our team,'' she said after Tuesday's game. “I knew this was going to be big. I'm just really proud of the way I played, the way our team played.''
Gators coach Tim Walton is Moultrie's biggest fan. She has amazed him with her improvement over the past three seasons and did the same during the WCWS.
“It was unbelievable to see her perform at the highest level against the best pitchers in the country,'' Walton said. “She took her game to another level.''
Moultrie is trying out for the USA National Team later this month, though Walton said “this should have been her tryout right here.''
With five key seniors departing, Moultrie's emergence in the postseason – she had only two home runs in the regular season but led the team in hits – and a strong group of freshmen has Walton excited about the future.
“It's nice to be able to build it around Cheyenne Coyle, Hannah Rogers, Brittany Schutte and Michelle Moultrie,'' Walton said. “It's a good core. It's good up the middle. We should be able to plug all the pieces in from there and be successful.''
